Machines, such as excavators, track type tractors, loaders, dozers, motor graders, underground loaders and trucks, generator sets, and other types of machinery, typically include equipment to collect and transmit information associated with the operation and status of the machine. The machines are often connected to a communication network that interfaces with off-board systems, such as a communication platform having a centralized information server for gathering and storing data received from one or more machines. In some instances, machine operation and status information is downloaded from the machine to the off-board system via a continual wireless connection. However, in locations where wireless connections are weak or unreliable, maintaining communications throughout the data download session has been a challenge. In these areas, data downloads of machine health information are often interrupted, resulting in lost or corrupted data. Accordingly, the session must be monitored to ensure that the downloads are correctly received. In addition, lost or corrupted downloads must be re-initiated, further increasing network traffic and reducing the available network bandwidth.
Problems arise particularly in enclosed work environments, such as mines, where low-frequency, low-bandwidth networks are typically used to transfer large data files, and where wireless availability may change rapidly depending on changes in machine location. In these environments, data files are often too large to be sent uninterrupted over the commonly used mobile equipment radio networks and infrastructures. The additional network traffic due to re-initiated transmissions further burdens the radio network and reduces its ability to support other communications.
One method of providing machine data to an off-board system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,589 (the '589 patent) issued to Holst et al. on Dec. 30, 2003. The '589 patent describes a system for collecting flight information during an airplane's flight. The system stores information during flight. Once the airplane has landed, the system wirelessly transmits the information to a ground-based node. While the system described in the '589 patent permits downloading data from an airplane to an off-board system, it fails to provide any mechanism to ensure that the messages are sent without interruption, and to account for weak or unavailable network conditions.
The disclosed systems and methods are directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.